A former Tumut man says his mother’s horrific ordeal is far from over after she was rescued from a “living nightmare” early Monday morning.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mel Jones’ vehicle had crashed and rolled into a gully, leaving her trapped on the outskirts of Bathurst and critically injured in a crumpled car for 11 hours with a flat phone.
Steven Kemp said on Tuesday his mother was in a stable condition and being prepped for surgery at a Sydney hospital.
He said despite the relief, there was still a lot unknown.
Mr Kemp said his Tumut-based mother was lucky to be alive but there was a long road to recovery ahead.
He said the 43-year old already suffered debilitating chronic pain from a previous back injury and was left unable to work from the young age of 25.
Mr Kemp said he didn’t know how his mother would afford the hospital bill and costs of rehabilitation as she lived week on week from Centrelink payments.
“We were never the wealthiest family,” Mr Kemp said. “She’s done well just to raise we three kids the way she did.”
He said he and his two sisters had set up a gofundme page, seeking financial aid to help their mother through the onslaught of hospital bills.
“It’s all been so crazy,” he said. “It’s our mum – she’s all we really have.”
Mr Kemp said he was grateful for all the assistance they had received to date and especially praised the work of emergency services personnel.
Local police, paramedics, the State Emergency Service and Mr Kemp had launched a search party in the early hours of Monday, scouring the Ilford Sofala Road for Ms Jones’ Toyota Corolla.
Mr Kemp said his mother’s car was so well-concealed from the road they drove past it several times before it was eventually spotted by a NSW Ambulance helicopter.
Paramedics reached Ms Jones on the ground about 20 minutes after she was spotted and crews worked to free her from the crumpled vehicle.
“It took a long time to find her but when we did (emergency services) were hands on straight away – they were amazing,” he said.
“When you see them in action, you can’t take them for granted and you can’t say anything bad about them.”
Chifley police inspector Gerard Powell said it would have been a very scary situation.
